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Friday, March 13, 2009

Stock Market News, Financial News - Mar 13, 2009

GLOBAL MARKETS - World stocks charge higher on better banking hope

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks were on track on Friday for one of their largest weekly gains in 20 years, propelled by growing confidence in the recovery of the U.S. banking system.

Wall Street looked set to open with hefty gains and government bonds sold off.

The Swiss franc steadied, a day after the Swiss National Bank knocked it sharply lower by intervening to weaken the currency to make it more competitive, a move that triggered some concerns about countries embarking on a currency war. (More ...)

ANALYSIS - Banks toughen as flimsy boom-time loan deals hurt

By Tom Freke

LONDON (Reuters) - Flimsy loan agreements drawn up in haste during the credit boom are coming back to haunt lenders as private-equity owned companies blow up without advance warning, forcing banks to rein in lending and tighten standards.

Italy's Ferretti shocked lenders when its value plummeted to little more than 100 million euros ($126.9 million) last month -- roughly the same value as just two of the luxury shipbuilder's most expensive yachts.

There had been little warning the group was in difficulty before its private equity owners walked away. (More ...)

Homes slump, but finance upbeat

Hindustan Times

Amid a general slowdown in construction and real estate industry and poor credit offtake, the housing finance industry remains bullish about growth hoping to disburse over 10 per cent more loans in 2008-09 as compared with the previous year.

"There won't be contraction in numbers for the year and the industry will end the year with growth," said Keki M Mistry, vice chairman and managing director, HDFC. (More ..)

FE Editorial : Reading data; CPI at 10.45%

By The Financial Express

Inflation at 2.43% and industrial growth at -0.5% strengthens the much-discussed narrative of depressed economic activity. But a closer look yields some interesting sub-stories. January's negative index of industrial production (IIP) figure is the second dip in two months. But note that for December, for which the original IIP was -2.6%, the revised figure, while still negative, has been revised upwards to -0.6%. This, and the fact that consumer goods and consumer durables posted positive growth in January (in December's IIP, durables had posted double-digit negative growth) leads to the question whether we are seeing early signs of an uptick in the near future. (More ...)

Wipro Infotech wins Rs 1,182 Crore e-governance project from ESIC

By Financial Express Bureau

Wipro Infotech, the India and Middle East IT business wing of Wipro Ltd, won an e-governance project, titled Panchdeep Project and worth Rs 1,182 crore, from the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

ESIC is a statutory corporation under the ministry of labour and employment, Government of India. It is the implementing agency of a pioneering social security scheme in the country. (More ...)